Pilates was designed by a man called Joseph Pilates in the early 1900’s. As a child, he suffered from asthma, rheumatic fever and rickets. It was because of this that he studied yoga, boxing and other sports on his quest for health. His Pilates method, or “Contrology” as it was known back then entailed clever movement systems with breath that completed a “whole body” workout. He promoted, breathing deep, getting outside in the fresh air, fresh foods, dry brushing for detoxing and stimulating circulation, and of course, Pilates every day. The combination of all these things kept him trim and in tip-top condition. This was his “Whole Body Health” legacy.
It is his system of Pilates that allowed him to enjoy a healthier, fuller life.
I would say that his way of forward-thinking back in the early 1900s was rare and that it has only been the last twenty-five years that the wider audience has begun to think this way. I also believe that there is still only a small percentage of people that actually live this way. We are so overburdened with responsibility and choice that we can’t even see that a little bit of “whole-body health” each day is achievable and totally worth it.
Social media has had us in a spin for too long about how we should look, feel and what we should do to get the “body of our dreams”. Most people think that hours of punishing exercise per day is the way forward to get ”the body of our dreams” and it’s just not.
What if the “body of our dreams” meant this?
- Feeling happy
- Feeling content
- More energised
- Feeling calm
- Feeling strong
- Feeling agile
- Feeling centred
- Feeling ready for anything
- Feeling healthy
- A strong immune system
- Less re-active
The list could go on…
Instead of:
- A smaller waist
- A greater thigh gap (yes this is a thing)
- Bigger butt
- Bigger boobs
I’m pretty sure that Joseph Pilates would agree the first list is what he meant by “Whole Body Health”.
What do you think?
